1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a braking control device that executes automatic braking when it is not possible for the vehicle in which the braking control device is installed to avoid an object located in front of the vehicle by steering or braking.
2. Background Information
There are many existing braking control devices (e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 6-298022) that react to, for example, an obstacle located in front of the vehicle by calculating the distance required to avoid the obstacle by braking and the distance required to avoid the obstacle by steering and executing automatic braking when the actual distance between the vehicle and the obstacle is smaller than either of the calculated distances. Thus, unnecessary execution of automatic braking is prevented when the driver intends to avoid the obstacle by steering.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved braking control device. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.